Our Story

1979 :

Founding of the company

1980 :

Launch of the first windsurfer, the Dufour «Wing»

1979 - 1990

The rapid expansion of the sport of windsurfing had not escaped the attentions of the lover of all things to do with the sea that was the Baron Bich. He believed in the sport and invested in the powerful industrial manufacturing capacity that would enable him to produce tens of thousands of affordably priced windsurf boards. At that time windsurfing had already designed its own destiny : to become the most popular sea/water sport of the late 20th century. With that impetus BIC Sport rapidly became the industry's biggest manufacturer with more than 80,000 boards leaving the doors of its factory in Vannes, Brittany. During the 1980s, BIC Sport wrote some of the most interesting pages of the sport's history by inviting some of the biggest name shapers and legendary competitors to design and promote its boards. The names of those boards will live long in the memory : Electric Rock, Hard Rock, Astro Rock...

1994 :

Acquisition of the Tiga brand

Release of the first Bic Sport surfboard

1997 :

Production of the 1 000 000th Bic Sport windsurfer

1990 - 2000

At the end of the 1980s windsurfing morphed itself into a new version of the sport, funboard. It was becoming elitist, under attack too from other, newer board sports like surf and snowboarding and started losing its edge. And while BIC Sport continued to lead the industry with its series of consistently strong products such as the Vivace, Veloce and Saxo, there were less people coming into the sport and it began to contract. So BIC Sport began diversifying, firstly into the surf market with the 1994 release of their Natural Surf, the first ever mass production surf board, which brought that sport within the reach of just about anybody. Other models followed, the Longboard 9' followed by the Shortboard 6'7, designed by one of the best shapers of his time, Gerard Dabaddie, achieving commercial success to match.

2000 :

BIC Sport wins the World Funboard Championships

2002 :

Launch of the first BIC Sport «sit-on-top» kayak, the Bilbao

2000 - 2003

2000 - 2010 Serious concentration on the competitive aspect : in 2000 and 2001 BIC Sport won World Championship titles in Funboarding. Strengthened by these successes, BIC Sport stepped back from top level competition to concentrate its efforts on the development of formula, mono-type competition, more open to a wider range of participants and more in keeping with its image of making the sport more widely accessible. 2000 - At this point, the brand new funboard, the Techno 283, revolutionised and re-launched funboarding. It was an overnight success with the factory in Vannes running night and day to satisfy the surging demand. It was also to become the first formula/mono-type board to be approved by the French Sailing Federation alongside the development of Funkids competition. This was a big first step on the road to "mono-type". 2001 - Although the big success of the Techno 283 helped mask the problems of an overall shrinking windsurf market, BIC Sport responded by diversifying even further into other sports and activities related to the sea. BIC Sport launched its first sit-on-top kayak, the Bilbao, which very quickly received a design star award. Tobago, Ouassou, Scapa, Yakka.... A series of models followed and met with similar commercial approval thanks to their innovative concept, the design and the manufacture quality.

2006 :

Launch of the O'pen BIC, the sailing dinghy for children and teenagers

2007 :

2008 :

Release of the Jungle, the first BIC Sport SUP

2009 :

Launch of the BIC 245 dinghy which replaces the legendary BIC 252Release of the first BIC Sport Inflatable Kayaks: the Yakkair HP1 & HP2

2003 - 2010

2002 - 2003 - Mono-type competition finds its way into the world of surf. Once again BIC Sport brought innovation to the sport, being the first to organise a world class mono-type surf contest : the BIC Longboard Challenge. BIC also vastly extended its range of surf boards. 2003 - BIC Sport gets involved in the new sport of kitesurfing by setting up the Takoon brand, who began releasing safe kites at a time when the sport was perceived as dangerous. In 2005 - the Techno 293 One Design replaced the legendary Aloha board as the mono-type for under 17s. In France only at first but very quickly successful all over the world, success that lasts to this day. The 2009 World Championships attracted 260 competitors from 25 countries. As things stand the Techno 293 One Design class is one of the most dynamic in windsurfing and one of the strongest in the entire world of sailing. 2006 - BIC Sport released the O'pen BIC, a board for kids and teenagers that finally managed to rival the Optimist design that had been market leader for almost 60 years. In just four years the O'pen BIC managed to impose itself thanks to its design and innovation, and by the new kinds of competition it made possible. Already, more than 3600 O'pen BICs are sailing somewhere in the world. 2006 - 2010 - The end of the century's first decade can be summed up in a few words : consolidating successful product ranges with quality designs, with innovation and accessibility always the priorities. In windsurfing, the Core and the Beach boards are the best examples. The continuous search for development of mono-type boards is also a top priority. In kayaking, thanks to the Yakka, BIC Sport was able to make its mark in the inflatable kayak market with a very strong product. In surfing, research continued on the development of Longboards (Magnum, Nat Young 9'4...) and the ACS range. Alongside that, the BIC 245 dinghy was given a new look, refreshing the range that has existed for 40 years.

2010 :

Release of the first polyethylene SUP, the SUP 11'4 ACS

2012 :

Comprehensive Paddleboard range is launched, including ACE-TEC, DURA-TEC, C-TEC, SOFT and AIR ranges

2013 :

Launch of the first "One Design" Paddleboard race series - The BIC SUP OneDesign Challenge - An industry first

2010 - 2014

2010 - 2014 : the SUP years. SUP is a board sport unlike any other : it's easy to learn, simple to do and appeals to a wide range of people. The result, a (beginning of the) decade in which Stand Up Paddle has enjoyed massive success. It's reminiscent of the golden age of Windsurf in the 80s. BIC Sport has concentrated on developing a bigger and better range in response to this ever-increasing demand. By the end of 2013, over 30,000 SUPs had already left the production facility in Vannes (Brittany). But the good news doesn't stop there. For instance, the O'pen BIC dinghy continues to shake up the sailing world, with nearly 6000 boats now out on the water. This class is in constant progression. As too is the Techno 293 One Design windsurf board, which has seen the size of its worldwide fleet growing year-on-year, with more than 9000 under 17s now sailing the board in 40 different countries. BIC kayaks have also impressed, the innovative YAKKAIR HP (High Pressure) in the inflatables market, the latest version of the Borneo with its new integral roller wheels and 100% mono/duo paddle convertability, a premiere in kayak design. In the surf board range, the new Egg 7'0 has already made a mark on the decade, a totally modern shape and an incredibly easy ride. Whilst the Mini Malibu has recently seen its 100,000th board roll off the production line. A record. Clearly, in 2014, BIC Sport is more than ever before THE international market leader for all board and water sports, and the only manufacturer to have kept its production facility firmly based in Europe, thanks in large part to its ceaseless drive for innovation and diversification. BIC Sport is also one of the rare hardware companies to have received the award "Brand of the Year 2013" from the EuroSIMA Commission. BIC Sport gets also the "Ecoride" label from Eurosima for Sustainable Development. Following the prize from Bateau Bleu and their numerous "Etoile du Design" awards, this comes as further recognition of BIC Sport's extensive work on respect for the environment in its industrial processes.